Biology - Master of Science

The Master of Science degree can be obtained through either a thesis option or a non-thesis option. Both options require 30 credits of course work. The non-thesis option can be completed as an accelerated (one-year) program concentrating in biotechnology or through an individual degree plan in consultation with the student's Master of Science committee.

For research toward the Master of Science degree, students can choose among the Department's three areas of emphasis:

1. Behavioral, Ecological and Evolutionary Biology

The Behavioral, Ecological and Evolutionary Biology program is appropriate for graduate students who wish to specialize in areas of biology that study the various processes that encompass the behavior, ecology, and evolution of living and extinct taxa.

2. Cell and Organismal Biology

The Cell and Organismal Biology program is appropriate for all Graduate students who wish to emphasize those areas of biology that integrate function and structure in cells, tissues, and organisms. This emphasis focuses in faculty areas of expertise in cell and molecular biology, neurobiology, developmental biology, and physiology.

3. Microbiology

The Microbiology curriculum is appropriate for graduate students who wish to specialize in areas of biology that study the various processes that occur in microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists) such as their physiology, ecology, development or evolution.